Sunrise
by the Azbaban Dreamer
Summary: Albus doesn't do mornings, especially during the Summer Holidays. But after being woken up far too early for his liking, he discovers that there are things worth getting up for. Cursed Child compliant


This story is inspired from a passage in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows in the chapter _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore_ where Harry is standing watch by the tent and dully notes that he should be appreciating the sunrise.

Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling.

* * *

Albus was having a nice sleep until a loud bang woke him up with a start. Sitting bolt upright, Albus saw that Scorpius had tripped over something and was lying spread-eagled on Albus's bedroom floor.

"Scorpius, what are you doing down there?" Albus asked.

"Well I'm alright if that's what you're asking and wide awake," Scorpius mumbled, getting up and picking up a book that Albus had left out last night. "Did you know that there is a wonderful invention called a bookshelf, Albus? You should start utilising it a lot more."

"Sorry," Albus said, grinning sheepishly. "I didn't know that I'd left it out."

"You know very well that I'm not the most graceful person on earth and leaving books out on the floor is a recipe for disaster when I'm staying over your house for the summer." Scorpius said, giving Albus a stern stare. "Plus, it's still dark out there. The sun hasn't even risen yet."

"Okay, I'm sorry about leaving my books on the floor and not the bookshelf," Albus said, trying to placate Scorpius whose stern stare was starting to make Albus feel guilty. "I'll try and tidy up so you don't trip over any more books."

"Apology accepted, Albus," Scorpius said with dignity. "And I'm sorry that I woke you up. I know how you like to have a lie in when its' the holidays and I get up far earlier than you do. But never mind that, It's _morning_, Albus. Morning! Something that you don't usually experience when you're snoring in bed."

"_Git_," Albus snorted, throwing his pillow at Scorpius which hit him square in the face. Scorpius giggled, a joyous grin on his face.

"You're always grumpy first thing in the mornings when you don't have breakfast," Scorpius said. "Come on, your dad should be up by now."

With a little cajoling from Scorpius, the two of them headed downstairs to the kitchen where they found Harry.

"Good morning, Mr. Harry Potter," Scorpius said cheerfully. Harry drained his tea and nodded in greeting.

"Morning, Scorpius," Harry said with a smile. Harry's eyes met Albus's and his eyes flickered with surprise.

"Albus, what are you doing up this early?" Harry asked. "You don't get up until it's almost noon. Are you alright? Did you have a nightmare?"

"I'm afraid I woke Albus up falling over a book he left on the floor of his bedroom, Mr. Potter," Scorpius said matter-of-factly.

"You're not hurt are you, Scorpius?" Harry asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

"I'm perfectly fine thank you," Scorpius said. "I'm going to show Albus how to use his bookshelf later today so that his room isn't a death trap."

"My room at Privet Drive was in a much worse state than Albus's," Harry grinned. "So, do you fancy breakfast? I bet you do, Albus. With an appetite like yours, you must be starving."

"I'm not hungry," Albus said defiantly as his stomach gave a loud rumble. Scorpius giggled and despite his annoyance, Albus couldn't help grinning at the wonderful sound of his laugh.

"I think your stomach disagrees with you, Albus," Harry said with a wry smile. "Let's get you some breakfast."

Harry waved his wand and almost immediately, the kettle soared up in the air and two mugs came flying out of the cupboards followed by a pair of plates and Harry got to work and the smell of cooking filled the kitchen, making Albus's mouth water. He had always loved his dad's cooking.

Ten minutes later, Albus and Scorpius had finished eating a full English breakfast. Albus had finished his last bite and drained his well needed coffee and sat back in his chair, watching Scorpius spread Marmalade over his toast. Now that he had eaten, Albus's mood had greatly improved and he felt quite content as he watched Harry who was digging something out of his pocket.

"It's almost time," Harry muttered, looking at his battered watch.

"Time for what?" Albus asked. "You don't have to go to work, dad. You're on holiday, remember?"

Harry shifted in his seat, a sheepish expression on his face. Albus wondered what his dad was planning

"It'll be sunrise, soon," Harry said hesitantly. "And I usually go and watch it. It's been a tradition of mine since after the war.

"I love watching the sunrise," Scorpius said enthusiastically, finishing his toast and marmalade.

"You do?" Harry asked, looking quite shocked at Scorpius's enthusiasm.

Scorpius nodded eagerly.

"Yes, very much so," He said. "I used to watch the sunrise with my Mum on the roof garden of our manor. I always used to enjoy it. I would be sitting with my Mum and the creeper vine would climb all over me. It would tickle me sometimes and I would laugh. The sunrise is a beautiful sight to see and I always try and watch it. Except when it's raining though. I tried that once, but I got all wet and when I came in, my dad nearly had a heart attack. He thought I was going to catch a cold so he forced me to drink some Pepperup Potion and steam came out of my ears for hours. I definitely prefer Pepper Imps. But never mind about that, would it be alright if I joined you? That's if you wanted_ me_ to join you. I always love a good sunrise."

"Of course, you can join me, Scorpius," Harry said, smiling at Scorpius but looking a little taken aback at his enthusiasm. "You'd be more than welcome to."

"_Hooray!_" Scorpius cheered, which made Albus laugh. "Are you coming, Albus? It would be great to have you with us if you want to join us. Either way, I'm perfectly happy."

Albus looked to see Scorpius's face full of excitement and his eyes shining with eagerness. Normally Albus would prefer to be in bed at this time of the morning, but a chance to spend time with his best friend and dad was too good to pass.

"Alright then," Albus said. "I suppose I could watch it with you."

Scorpius gave Albus a brilliant beam, his eyes shining with pure joy and Albus couldn't help but grin back at him. Harry smiled warmly at Albus.

* * *

It was chilly in the garden and the moon was still out and Albus shivered as he made his way to the bench. He sat between Harry and Scorpius and for a moment, there was silence as they had their eyes on the horizon. Albus wished the sun would hurry up. It was_ freezing_ outside.

They waited for a moment before Albus saw it; A small patch of orange light on the horizon, spreading outwards and slowly changing the sky from dark indigo to light blue. It was an incredibly breath-taking sight to see and beside him, Scorpius let out a sigh of wonder.

"It's incredible, isn't it?" Harry said, glancing at Albus and Scorpius with a smile. "To see something like this. It's an impressive sight and not many people stop to appreciate it. Appreciate how lucky they are to simply be alive."

Harry glanced back to the sunrise, looking pensive and Albus had to admit that he had a point.

"I've almost been killed countless times now," Harry continued. "I shouldn't have been alive at all. I was lucky to even reach my second birthday, never mind my eleventh and I'm still amazed that I've reached my forty first. My years at Hogwarts were a constant battle to stay alive. I always make an effort, when I can to watch the sunrise. Life is precious and should never be taken for granted. Because one day, all of this could end suddenly."

"Like with my Mum," Scorpius said sadly and both Albus and Harry turned to look at him. "She should've had years of her life ahead of her to watch the sunrises, but thanks to her blood curse, her life was cut short. It's not fair! But I've had many happy memories of watching the sunrises with her and now I'm going to have happy memories of watching the sunrise with my best friend and Harry Potter himself. How crazily fortunate is that?"

"As someone who has also lost their Mother, Scorpius," Harry said. "You should know that you're more than welcome to talk to me."

"Thank you, sir," Scorpius said gratefully, giving Harry a small smile and Albus felt a great surge of affection for his Dad.

"There's no need to call me sir, Scorpius," Harry said gently. "Harry or Mr. Potter would do."

"Okay, Harry," Scorpius said, his smile getting bigger. "I can't believe that I get to call you Harry. It's like when I was seven and I was pretending to be on an adventure with you. Did you know that you were my imaginary friend? But now I'm talking to the real you and that's another happy memory that I can add to my list."

Scorpius looked back to the sunrise, the light reflecting off his eyes as he looked at it happily. Albus couldn't help but grin at Scorpius's happiness. Scorpius's happiness was very tangible and it put everyone in a good mood. Harry chuckled and reached across and patted Scorpius on the shoulder.

There was a comfortable silence afterwards as the three of them returned to watch the sunrise.

"I think you're right, Dad," Albus said, breaking the silence. "Life _is_ precious. Anyone could drop dead any minute. Look at your parents, look at Scorpius's mum, look at Craig, look at Cedric. It could've been me and Scorpius as well. I-I enjoy watching the sunrise with you, Dad. It is incredible to watch and I think it might've been worth getting out of bed for. "

Harry grinned and on Albus's other side, he heard Scorpius let out a giggle.

"But that doesn't mean I'm going to watch the sunrise _all _the time," Albus said hastily. "It _is_ the Summer Holidays after all and I don't do mornings."

"You _never _do mornings, Albus," Scorpius giggled and Albus couldn't help but laugh.

"It's nice to see you up early, for once, Albus," Harry said. "I quite enjoyed the company. I always do this alone. I haven't even told your mother or James and Lily. To be honest, I thought you would think it's weird."

"I don't think it's weird, dad," Albus said quietly. "Well maybe a little bit, but I really did enjoy watching it with you, dad and it really puts things in perspective. Thank you for sharing that with us."

Harry grinned at Albus and Albus grinned back and they both turned to watch the sunrise. A breeze blew over the bench and on Albus's other side, Scorpius shivered.

Albus glanced at Scorpius who was pulling his sleeves over his hands for some warmth. Without even thinking about it, Albus put his arm around Scorpius's shoulders and to Albus's surprise, Scorpius leant into Albus's shoulder and rested his head against the crook of Albus's neck, looking up at Albus with a soft smile and his warm grey eyes shimmering with affection.

Albus smiled down at Scorpius too as the golden light of the sun reflected off Scorpius's hair. The sight of it caused a peculiar sensation in Albus's stomach and he knew it wasn't anything to do with his breakfast; it felt as if there were butterflies bouncing around inside.

Scorpius looked even more breath-taking than the sun and Albus loved those moments when it was just him and Scorpius sitting there in silence and enjoying each other's company.

Harry was still watching the sunrise looking as pensive as ever and not even noticing Albus with his arm around Scorpius's shoulders. Albus felt a greater deal of respect towards his father after watching the sunrise with him.

The sun rose over the trees, its' rays giving some warmth and a breeze ruffled Albus's hair. He looked from his Dad who was still thinking deeply to Scorpius who was still watching the sunrise with his head resting on the crook of Albus's neck and Albus grinned.

_'Early mornings were alright, really',_ He thought. At least it gave him an extra chance to spend time with his best friend. He was even looking forward to Scorpius teaching him how to use his bookshelf properly. Today was going to be a nice day.

* * *

Thank you for reading.


End file.
